Proud owner of a glorious swamp!

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You are giving me hope!! I am on Day 2 today and my FC is not staying up either, although my pool was an aqua color yesterday at a point, which showed a pile of leaves in the middle. Keep the updates/pictures coming.

I don't know if you have a Meijers, but they have 4-1 gallon bottles of 10% for 12.99 right now. We don't have an Ollies, but I will check out ACE Hardware. I have gone through 20 jugs since Tuesday night myself.
 
Day 3 - Hour 0 - FC:7.5 CC:0.5 - cloudy - nice and foamy - new leaves dropped from jerk tree

Mugsy is excited to check out the pool, are you? You can't take a photo of action dog. Action dog too quick for you.

pool-d3h0-dog.jpg


So it's pretty foamy, which I believe to be the dead carcasses of vanquished foes.

pool-d3h0-water1.jpg

pool-d3h0-water2.jpg


First, I get a sample, just stick my arm right in there. Laziness has overcome algae-phobia. Although it's really just a bucket of clorox right now...

pool-d3h0-arm.jpg


Time to test the sample. Taking a moment to ponder how I need to buy a lawnmower and clean up all these leaves and place the outdoor carpet under the table and about a million other things. #movingsucks

pool-d3h0-yard.jpg


Unrealistic action shot, attempting to pour 10ml left-handed while taking a photo.

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Movie magic, perfect pour! Or is it? Now let's play the game "Find The Meniscus."

pool-d3h0-meniscus.jpg


So I added 60 drops of reagent and was really confused when the sample wouldn't change color. Then I realized I was titrating with R0003 instead of R0871! Haha! Pool chemistry humor. No but seriously, I did that. Replace the sample, rinse and start over. Now we get this lovely swirl action shot. SpeedStir?! Don't need no steeenkin' speed stir. I got your SpeedStir right here, buddy.

pool-d3h0-stir.jpg


This is how hard it is to determine how much chlorine you should add. Enter free chlorine measurement, SLAM target, bleach percentage (listed under active ingredients on the jug as % of sodium hypochlorite) and the jug size. Done. Point to the result to get this result expressed as gallons or number of jugs.

pool-d3h0-poolmath.jpg


The skimmer basket was stuck again. I turned off the pump and lo' and behold the basket came out easy. If this is from suction, does it imply the skimmer basket is perhaps the wrong size for the skimmer? Anyhow, the pump was running at baseline PSI still, so I guess the skimmer sock did its job. Or the pump was starved all night?

pool-d3h0-sock.jpg


Since the pump was off, I gave the pump basket a little cleaning.

pool-d3h0-pumpbasket2.jpg

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Raking has gotten easier. Brushing is still a pain. Making sure I brush the wall all the way to the top. Who knows where the algae monster lies dormant?

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I spent so much time putting together this post it's time to test the chlorine again! But it's raining now so maybe that's a sign I should eat lunch instead. ;) Also, I need to order more R-0871, I'm going through it quickly.

- - - Updated - - -

bjb4ohio said:
I don't know if you have a Meijers, but they have 4-1 gallon bottles of 10% for 12.99 right now. We don't have an Ollies, but I will check out ACE Hardware. I have gone through 20 jugs since Tuesday night myself.
Click to expand...

According to the website Meijers is located only in Indiana and the neighboring states. I have to count where I'm at, I'm about 45 gallons in I'd guess.
 
Day 3 - Hour 2 - FC:16 CC:0.5 - Rain rain rain, no foam, still that light grey/green cloudy color

FC measurements continue to rise. Skimmer basket was not seated properly, so sock did not catch much. As a result, PSI raised +5 over baseline, so I backwashed and a quick rake in a rain jacket.

I didn't realize how low I was on R-0871. Does anyone think Leslie's or another pool store might carry it?
 
jblizzle said:
Doubt it. This is one reason why we recommend the TF-100. Get those refills order ASAP. tftestkit.net will likely have them to you in 2 days ... they are in NC.
Click to expand...

I ordered a refill for the CYA and the DPD powder weeks ago, just to have on hand. I didn't anticipate the 871 would run out first. Reordered a refill this afternoon already but was hoping to find one locally. Leslie's offers the R-0871 on their website, but none of the three nearest stores carry it. I think they carry the OTO test instead.

Since I'm not sure how many more tests I'm going to get out of this bottle, any recommendations for how I should spend the next few days? Test once at end of day until it runs out? Spike a jug once a day just for kicks? Drop down to a 5ml sample and double the ppm per drop? ;)
 
I would just drop to the 5ml for now. I thought I was about to run out at one point and then it lasted another couple weeks (although not SLAMing) ... it seemed to last longer than expected.
 

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Day 3 - Hour 5 - FC:22? CC:1.0 - water light blue/green/grey - clear surface - can see 2nd step but not clearly - rainy/cloudy day

Previously I had overdosed the pool because I had to get to the airport to pick up my girlfriend. Now, I'm rationing the 871 reagent, so I took a 5ml sample and counted 22 drops. At 10ml that's 0.5ppm/drop so I would think at 5ml it is 1ppm/drop. Assuming that's correct, this means I'm at my SLAM target and surprisingly don't need to add any bleach. Right on.
 
Day 3 - Hour 8 - FC:19.0 CC:1.0 (+/- 1) - still cloudy, but nicer color

The first two days of the SLAM have been time-consuming, but today has been simple. The FC is staying up high. Although the second step is a little harder to see here, that probably more a function of it getting dark outside.

pool-d3h8.jpg

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Not much to clean in the sock. The pressure filter is sitting at just under 2 PSI over baseline. If it crawls up I may backwash tonight before going to bed, but the sock seems to be doing its job. I really like the sock!

pool-d3h8-sock.jpg


Now that the hard part of the SLAM is over, the dog is bored.

pool-d3h8-mugsy.jpg


Next steps: keep it at SLAM level, watch the remaining green go away, watch the pool clear up, kill the alligator in the bottom of the pool, and scrape up its remains.
 
The pool looks so much better without all that foam on it! Thanks for all the pics!
 
Day 4 - Hour 1.5 - did not test chlorine - Pump at 0 PSI over baseline

Skipped the test, partially to save reagent, but also because I think I can get away with less frequent testing now. I'll test it after lunch. Looking decent.

pool-d4h1.jpg


Brushed the pool, which kicked up a bunch of leaves that promptly sank. I can't do too much about them until I get better water visibility.

pool-d4h1-brush.jpg


I was careful to brush the floor, the sides, around the steps, and around the ladder. The brush got stuck on the ladder. Without being able to see it, I felt like I was doing one of those black box puzzles trying to get it blindly unstuck.

After this is all done SLAMming, I'll have to do something about cleaning up the area around the pool, and deal with some of those stains. I don't know if there's anything I can do about the rust on the ladder, and I'm curious how rust got to be there in the first place. Shouldn't all those parts be water-safe?

pool-d4h1-ladder.jpg


Google Photos detected five similar pix and was kind enough to generate this animated gif of me swirling a sample. If you stare at it long enough, you'll start to hear Pink Floyd and have acid flashbacks...

pool-swirl-anim.gif
 

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